HOCKEY

HOCKEY; Rangers' Leetch Sidelined By Injury

By JENNIFER FREY

Published: December 19, 1992

One week after trading for free-agent defenseman Kevin Lowe in order to improve their sagging defense, the Rangers have been hit with the indefinite loss of Brian Leetch, perhaps the league's best defenseman.

Leetch will miss tonight's game in Hartford and is sidelined indefinitely with nerve irritation to his neck and shoulder suffered in a crash into the boards during a 4-3 victory over the Blues in St. Louis Thursday night.

A Rangers spokesman said yesterday that, given the nature of Leetch's injury, the team could not provide a time frame for his return, although he could return as early as Monday, when the Rangers face the Devils in New Jersey. The irritation and compression of the nerves in Leetch's neck and left shoulder have caused weakness in his left arm and doctors are uncertain how long it will take before those effects wear off. A Vital Player

Leetch's absence comes as a strong blow to the Rangers, who depend on him not only to direct the team defense, but also to create numerous scoring opportunities. Leetch, who was voted the Norris Trophy as the National Hockey League's best defenseman last season, consistently leads the team in shots on goal per game and is second in team scoring with 34 points. He is also a team leader in the locker room, albeit a quiet one.

"You never want to see a guy get hurt, especially a guy like Leetch," forward Adam Graves said. "You never want to see him out. He gives so much to this team. He is a leader by example. We just hope he feels comfortable with his shoulder soon and he'll be able to come back."

The injury occurred in the first period of the Rangers-Blues game at The Arena. In the Rangers' end of the rink, near the blue line, Leetch skated across the ice to intercept Phillipe Bozon of St. Louis, who was carrying the puck. It appeared that Bozon pulled up just as Leetch reached him, causing Leetch to trip over Bozon's stick and fly head-and-shoulder first into the boards.

Leetch's helmet made such a forceful impact on the wall that team trainer Dave Smith did not bother waiting a few moments to see if Leetch would rise on his own before he headed across the ice to the defenseman's aid. Leetch lay face down, his body writhing, for several minutes before Smith was able to help him to his feet. X-rays Negative

Leetch underwent precautionary X-rays at St. Louis Jewish Hospital, which were negative, before joining the team for the charter flight to Newark Airport. Yesterday, he was re-evaluated by Rangers team doctor Barton Nisonson, who diagnosed the nerve damage.

Coach Roger Neilson will likely use defenseman Mark Hardy in the lineup until Leetch is able to return. Hardy played in 25 of the Rangers' 26 games before the arrival of Sergei Zubov from the Binghamton farm club on Dec. 6. Hardy returned for one game, against the Canadiens, after Zubov was sent back to Binghamton, then lost his job to Lowe.

Neilson decided on Thursday to experiment with his defensive pairings, teaming Lowe with Jeff Beukeboom, Leetch's usual defensive partner. James Patrick skated with Jay Wells and Leetch was paired with Mike Hurlbut. Given that Hardy and Hurlbut are both left defensemen, it would not be surprising to see Neilson reunite the Wells-Hardy duo and put Hurlbut together with Patrick for tonight's game. 'All Have to Work Harder'

"When you don't have Leetch, then it's up to everyone to pick it up," Patrick said. "It makes us all have to work harder."

Bozon is not likely to be subject to any league sanctions over the Leetch injury, given that he did not raise his stick in an effort to intentionally harm the Ranger. Indeed, Bozon said after Thursday night's game that he was not even aware that Leetch had been injured until the enraged Graves came after him.

Graves, Bozon and New York's Tony Amonte each received penalties for the ensuing scuffle, Amonte earning a 10-minute misconduct call in addition to his minor for roughing. Bozon was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I just assumed Bozon got his stick up; that's why I went after him," Graves said. "I didn't even see it, but when I saw Leetch down like that, I figured he had his stick up."